These Dice Are Pink

Archive for the ‘PC Gaming’ Category

More Rapture

Yesterday was a pretty stressful day.  I managed to overcome it, but in that stress, I decided that I wanted to hear more of the story about Rapture and that I would pick up Bioshock 2 and give it a whirl.  I don’t have much to write here today, mainly because, I am prepping to start the game and see how it goes.  If it’s anything like Bioshock, then, I imagine I will really enjoy it.

Goodbye Rapture, for Now

This weekend, I was able to finish Bioshock.  I am not great at finishing games, so, I’m really proud of the fact that I stuck it out through this entire story.  Even though I completed the gut wrenching section; the resolution was well worth it.  It wasn’t the same confusing ride, but, the ending was really unexpected and worth it.  Well, I guess I kind of expected it but not fully.  I am really excited to delve into Bioshock 2, but, I decided to finish some other games first.  However, I don’t think it will be long until I get into a new Bioshock story.  Originally, I was under the impression that Bioshock 2 was a sequel.  But now, I realize it’s just another thread in a similar theme.  I kind of like that style.  There are many worlds which are so vibrant and very few of them take this sort of approach.  For this reason, I think Bioshock Infinite will also be very cool.  Also, SKY CITY.  What more do you need?

Neptune’s Bounty and Freeing the Peeples

For those of you who have played the game, I restarted Bioshock last night and made it through to Neptune’s Bounty.  It really did not lose any of the magic in the second play through.  In fact, because I understood the mechanics better, I was less worried about how to handle the mechanics and able to enjoy the ambiance a lot more.  It made it creepier when I wasn’t fidgeting for buttons and instead could spend more time listening and looking around.  It gave me more time to absorb the diaries and the incredible storyline.

Today, I got a trial of Starcraft II running on my computer.  Now, I have never played Warcraft or Starcraft.  I am a complete imbecile at RTS games.  However, I am pleasantly surprised that Starcraft has a storyline far deeper than I expected in campaign mode.  When I think of RTS games, I think of peering over Bill’s shoulder while he made a bunch of things.  It didn’t seem to compel me.  In Starcraft, though, I really want to shoot hologram boards and free the people of the colony.  I’m not sure how they manage to make those peeples (tiny people in an RTS according to me) bring that much emotion, but, they did it.

Bio-What?

I’ve been playing Bioshock and I got to the Arcadia section and decided to start from the beginning.  Let me explain, so, Bioshock is a game where you really learn as you go.  There was so much I did not know how to do when I started that I didn’t poke into every corner.  It’s really not a game that you shouldn’t go everywhere you can go.  Also, in System Shock 2, you could shoot security cameras.  I didn’t really understand how to deal with them and they nearly killed me many times.  Now that I have these skills under my belt I want to restart, relax, and take it in more.  The story line is really incredible and I’m really playing it for the really great, intense story that it brings.  In case you are wondering, I’m going down the path of light first, though, I really want to be a jerk for a second round to see what happens.

These Cakes are ManiC

I could write about so many wonderful games I have to play and work on.  Instead, all I can think about is Cakemania.  I started playing this because I like baking and a friend suggested it.  It’s pretty addictive.  More so, you can pick it up in small pieces.  Cakemania is a time management game where you have a cook, several stations, and customers that arrive with different orders.  The game switches it up with different types of cake styles and different customer needs.  Example, a vampire might show up and drain the life from customers if you don’t serve him fast.  There are three Cakemania games.  I’ve only played Cakemania and Cakemania 3, because for some reason Cakemania 2 did not want to play on my computer.  Cakemania has a very small story line about trying to work a cake making business from the ground up.  I admit I only got to the Beach before I was quickly overwhelmed and my hands hurt from running here and there.  Cakemania 3 has a more detailed (if not really over the top) story line to it.  They have really fine tuned the movement in Cakemania 3 the best, but, Cakemania the first is a good place to start if you have never checked them out.  Now all they need is Cupcakemania and I would be very happy.

The Shocks Continue

Day two of Bioshock occurred last night.  I am now way farther than I ever got in the game when I attempted to play the first time.  At first, it left me timid and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to play after my husband went to bed.  Last night, I started to ease into the atmosphere and relish the surprises around the corner.  It is not that the noises (or lack of noise) gets repetitive, just that, you begin to enjoy the story and atmosphere that it brings.  After the cut, I included where I was in the game.  It’s put there for people who don’t want spoilers.

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Shock of a Bio Kind!

This evening I loaded up Bioshock to play it.  I did play it for a short time in the past, but at the time, I wasn’t used to gaming in the same way and I had never even owned a gaming mouse.  I started it up today and it worked really well on my computer.  More so, I got to the Medical Pavilion tonight.  It may have taken me a long time to get there.  There’s so much to explore and look at in the game that I want to poke around and look at all the stuff in the city.  More so, Bioshock, like System Shock, always seems to be a game where you can go about it a few different ways.

I know I’m late to the band wagon, but, I’m always late to the band wagon.  I was honestly surprised at how successful I could be at the game.  What gets me is that there’s always some whisper around the corner or some startling surprise in a perfectly empty room.  Like System Shock, many of the horrors are simply atmosphere over actual monsters.  It has a very nice psychological element to it that I found very appealing.

Back Into the Swing of Things

I’m getting back into the swing of things here at home.  This means there is so much to do that I was able to leave behind over the weekend.  I logged into World of Warcraft yesterday and did my dailies.  I was almost too tired to do that, but, I knew it would help ease me into my attempt to get back into routine.  I also took Autoshotmoo to the weekly raid which was in Naxx this week.  Oh Naxx, sometimes I do miss you and your creepy bugs.  I remember when we were standing in front of the spider wing for the first time.  I did not get to do the raid in Vanilla WoW, so, it was all new to me.  I think the fights there reminded me of Karazhan and I absolutely learned to love that instance as well.  I think that Ice Crown Citadel and many others are really good.  But for some reason, I think instances like Naxx were able to spark our imaginations in a different way.

Hectic Week

This week has been very hectic.  I’m stuffing everything I normally do into a couple of days.  This weekend, I’m heading off to South Carolina to volunteer at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.  I heard it is a very inspiring event, so, I’m looking forward to being there and to experience everything.

I had an awesome weekend of World of Warcraft last weekend.  Sometimes, I just let things go and sit down and play a while.  That was definitely a lot of fun.  Hopefully when I get back, I can make things a little less hectic here and there and have more time to delve into a few achievements.  Last weekend, we did the Vault bosses.  That was pretty cool, as, I had not seen one or two of them.  Totally worth the couple minutes for those achievements.  If you haven’t had a chance to do them, check them out!

Civilization

This weekend I played Civilization IV for a little bit. I like moving the little people around so much. Admittedly, I only have one strategy in this game. I essentially build across as much land as I have; after I run out of room, I start systematically taking the cities nearby. I realize there are so many other ways to play this game, but, it’s the one that I prefer the best. Just this weekend, I pointed and laughed at Roosevelt as I said ‘SAN FRANCISCO IS MINE’ and ‘SEATTLE IS MINE’. The one downfall to this game is there is no way to consistently see your computer clock. At one point, I was fifty turns away from the end and discovered it was 2 am in the morning. There’s nothing better than winning a diplomatic victory after wiping out people who don’t like you. It’s funny because it’s true.